The real problem: asking people "are you happy?" isn't a good metric of their well-being. The answer you get is determined mostly by (a) their personality and (b) what's happened in their lives over the past few days (whether good or bad).
But that isn't the same as saying that there are no differences in well-being throughout someone's life. If I lose both my legs tomorrow I'll probably feel bad for a while but after a couple of years learn to cope with my new situation and return to my baseline level of happiness. That doesn't mean that chopping off my legs is essentially a cost-free exercise to me though.
But that isn't the same as saying that there are no differences in well-being throughout someone's life. If I lose both my legs tomorrow I'll probably feel bad for a while but after a couple of years learn to cope with my new situation and return to my baseline level of happiness. That doesn't mean that chopping off my legs is essentially a cost-free exercise to me though.